Draft constitution proposes President as Head of State

The President as the Head of State and the Prime Minister as the Head of Government is the proposed form of governance drafted in the new Fiji Constitution.

Fijivillage has obtained the copy of the draft constitution which stipulates that the President is elected by the National People’s Assembly and all of the members of Parliament.

For the National People’s Assembly, it will be an annual assembly of the people in which representatives of civil society and Officers of the State congregate.

The people of Fiji will elect Parliament every four years and that is to consist of 71 members.

From this, 60 seats are to be filled by candidates representing multimember electoral districts and 11 seats are to be filled in accordance with a mechanism to ensure proportional distribution of the seats in Parliament among the parties contesting the election.

On religion, the State must treat all religions equally and the State must not dictate any religious belief.

The draft constitution includes a Bill of Rights.

The proposed draft constitution also recognizes the Bose Levu Vakaturaga as a custodian of i-Taukei culture and traditions, and as a non-partisan organ of civil society existing to promote wider understanding of the i-Taukei culture, and its traditional values and practices, in a manner consistent with the multicultural character of Fiji.


Story by: William Waqavakatoga